Saturday, February 27, 2010

The Tea Party Movement that has been spreading like wildfire in the United States is now spreading into the UK. Daniel Hannan, British politician is hosting the first rally today in his home town of Brighton.

Labour has raised more than a trillion pounds in additional taxation since 1997. Yet, unbelievably, Gordon Brown has still managed to run up a deficit of 12.6 per cent of GDP (Greece’s is 12.7 per cent). A far lower level of taxation brought Americans out in spontaneous protest last year.

If you happen to be coming to the Conservative Spring Conference, do please pop in: the Tea Party is five minutes’ walk from the conference venue. It is, however, outside the security zone, and anyone is welcome to come. Oh, and this being England, we’ll be serving actual, you know, tea. I hope to see some of this blog’s readers there." Daniel Hannan,Telegraph

Mr. Hannan is a true conservative Brit of real substance. This guy I believe is a future Prime Minister of Great Britain. He is a pleasure to listen to.

Friday, February 26, 2010

I don't know about you but I think it's time to get rid of the pesky equalization program. It is a constant thorn in the side of both the provincial and federal governments. It's basically a wealth transfer program where those so called "have provinces" contribute to the so called "have not provinces." It's an unfair program that we in Alberta have taken a big part of the brunt in having to pay into this socialist scheme.

"TORONTO -- The federal equalization program leads to worse public services in three "have" provinces -- Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia -- while "have-not" provinces maintain gold-plated public services and free-spending governments, say the authors of a new report released Wednesday.

"The evidence presented in this paper strongly suggests that, in many important areas, levels of government services in donor provinces such as Alberta and Ontario are significantly below those that exist in the major recipient provinces," the authors, Ben Eisen and Mark Milke, wrote in the report for the Winnipeg-based Frontier Centre for Public Policy.

They argue Ottawa should freeze the program with an eye toward scrapping it altogether.

Quebec is the recipient of most equalization payments; it will receive almost $8.4-billion in 2009-10 out of a total equalization budget of $14.2-billion for the six receiving provinces...............................................................

"Equalization was introduced in 1957 to promote comparable public services in all 10 provinces.

The federal program takes federal tax dollars and distributes them to provinces with lower per-capita fiscal capacity.

The formula used to measure fiscal capacity takes account of 33 different revenue sources. A province's fiscal capacity is then measured against the average of five chosen provinces (B.C, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec) and if it is lower, the province will receive equalization.

"The current system is broken," the report ultimately concludes, "and the equalization program should be abolished or dramatically reformed to reduce the adverse, unintended consequences that the equalization program creates."(h/t) National Post

L. Ian MacDonald, QMI Agency has a very good column on how unequal, equalization is especially when it comes to Quebec. How they actually get more. I like the title of his piece,Weaning Quebec from Alberta's purse

"As for tuition fees, it’s obvious that Quebec universities suffer from underfunding. Quebec residents pay only $1,700 a year to attend McGill — one of the Top 20-ranked universities in the world, while Ontario students pay three times as much to attend Queen’s or the University of Toronto.

Taxpayers pay the rest, including the taxpayers of Alberta who send $8 billion of equalization payments to Quebec every year.

But there is no evidence that the Charest government has the political courage to raise tuition fees anytime soon, even though it has a permission slip to do so from the youth wing of the Quebec Liberal Party.

Nor is there any evidence that it has the courage to raise day-care fees from $7 a day, when the actual cost is $49 a day — again subsidized by taxpayers, including the voters of Alberta through equalization. (Alberta sends $40 billion a year to Ottawa and gets only $19 billion back from the feds in transfers and entitlements, leaving $21 billion in equalization from Ottawa to the recipient provinces, which now include Ontario).

So Quebec, with 20% of the kids in the country, has 50% of all the day-care spaces in Canada."

Ifor one am sick and tired as an Albertan having to pay for social programs in Quebec especially right now. We have our own problems to take care of. We have a big budget deficit hole we need to dig our selves out of. Our health care is suffering, our education system is broken, our infrastructure is falling apart. We can't do it anymore.Why would they want our money anyway, it comes from dirty oil after all.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

No wonder our economy is suffering in Alberta . Our oil and gas industry pays higher taxes in the province than any other industry says Jack Mintz. He also says they're taxed higher than any other jurisdiction in the world. Thanks Ed!

"CALGARY - The oil and gas industry in Alberta pays higher royalties and taxes than other parts of the country and other jurisdictions around the world, according to Jack Mintz, the head of University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy.

In a report released Wednesday, Mintz said the energy industry is effectively taxed higher than other industries in the province after factoring in the royalties. In the report, Mintz advocated harmonized royalty structures."

"The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers' Vice President, Greg Stringham, says the study, titled "Taxing Canada's Cash Cow" makes some good points.He says investors want to see stability and predictability from the Alberta government."

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Unlike most journalists in this country that have high hopes for Mr. Iffy and the Liberals, Angelo Persichilli doesn't, in this piece anyway. He thinks Mr. Iffy is a disappointment, calls the opposition a lame duck opposition.

Such high expectations, such a letdownInitially considered a political contender, Ignatieff shows he lacks leadership skillBy Angelo Persichilli

"When Michael Ignatieff was lured back into Canadian politics, he was hailed as the new Pierre Trudeau and many were hoping that, finally, the new leader would give Canadians at least one reason to vote for the Liberals again.After four years in Canada, two Conservative minority governments, and an economic crisis of gigantic proportions, Ignatieff has steadfastly refused to give Canadians that one reason why they should support him, aside from the childish argument that the other guys are bad.".........................................................................

"A minority government is a lame duck government. But an opposition that cannot defeat a minority government is a lame duck opposition. And, the only thing worse than a government that doesn’t have the trust of the majority of its citizens, is when the citizens trust the opposition much less than the government itself."

Iffy's leadership numbers are not good according to the last Nik Nanos poll. Compare Iffy's numbers with the PM. PM Harper is heads and shoulders above him in all categories, he leads in all.

Clearly after the next election Iffy will probably be on his way back to Harvard. Wonder who's up next as leader? Will it be Bob Rae, Ruby Dhalla, Justin Trudeau, Martha Hall Findlay, Gerard Kennedy, Hedy Fry, or Domonic LeBlanc or someone else?

Michael Ignatieff, not a leader! He hasn't been a letdown for conservatives, we like him. Go Mr. Iffy!

BTW. I wonder if Mr. Iffy is disappointed this morning, that Team Canada defeated Team Russia in last nights hockey game.

Disgusting! These teachers should be fired! If I had kids still in school and they had teachers like this, I would pull my kids out of school and demand those teachers lose their jobs. The teachers, the school and the school board would all have some explainin' to do. It's totally inappropriate.

"A pair of teachers engaging in risque business ignited a media riot on Monday, after a video of a simulated lap dance from a school event went viral.

The video, taken last Wednesday during a well-attended pep rally for Grade 9 through 12 students at Churchill High School, shows students giggling, gasping and screaming as a female teacher receives a strip club-style lap dance from a male teacher." Winnipeg Free Press

Sorry if anyone wasn't able to comment in my last few posts. I had technical problems in that department. All is fixed now so feel free to resume comments.

Not quite yet though! Actually, I support Stephen Harper as Prime Minister right now but down the road a while who knows?Maxime Bernier former Industry and Foreign Affairs Minister now backbencher is someone I could support whenever PM Harper decides he wants retire. His stance on the economy and free enterprise is something I totally agree with. Now he is expressing his doubt in the global warming IPCC so called science. He's a skeptic! Thank you Maxime!

“Environmental groups in Copenhagen criticized our government for blocking an agreement … and again when Jim Prentice announced our targets at the end of January ... But with each passing week we see the wisdom of the government’s moderate position … since December, a debate has broken out in the media over the science of warming, a debate that had been stifled due to political correctness … the numerous errors by the IPCC add to alternative theories of warming that have been put forward over the years.

We now recognize that it’s possible to be a “skeptic,” or at least to keep an open mind about nearly all critical aspects of the warming theory. For example, while no one questions whether there has been warming, there is no consensus among scientists as to its degree.

Moreover, we realize that during the period of greatest concern about warming – the last decade – temperatures have stopped increasing! Meanwhile, the quantity of CO2 in the atmosphere, said to be the cause of warming according to the official theory, is still increasing. Some very serious scientists believe that we are under-estimating the influence of the sun and other factors that have nothing to do with carbon emissions.

Mojib Latif, a German researcher associated with the IPCC who essentially supports the warming theory, said last fall that temperatures may decline for two decades before warming resumes. No model predicted this. But the same models claim to predict the number of degrees of warming by the end of the century. And that’s only one of the “certainties” about which there is no consensus.

What is certain is that it would be irresponsible to spend billions of dollars and to impose unnecessarily stringent regulations to solve a problem whose gravity we still are not certain about. The alarmism that has characterized this debate is no longer appropriate. Canada is wise to be cautious.”

I wish PM Harper and Minister Prentice would make a statement like this. I know there are more out there in the CPC caucus who doubt the man made global warming . I only hope more will come out now express their doubts.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

In Philadelphia federal authorities have found more than two dozen fetuses in a doctor's office while investigating allegations into why a woman died after an abortion. This is truly despicable! Why would this so called doctor keep these tiny little ones possibly victims of illegal late term abortions? Only someone sick and demented would do such a thing. I hope this so called doctor gets put away for a long, long, time.

"PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―Philadelphia and federal authorities who raided a doctor's office after allegations a woman died following an abortion made a shocking discovery: more than two dozen frozen fetuses.

For the second time in four days, Philadelphia Police, along with State Licensing officials and DEA agents, searched the West Philadelphia office of Dr. Kermit Gosnell on Monday.

Sources tell Eyewitness News that the search came after a patient reportedly died following an abortion on November 20."

.............................................

" The fetuses are now being analyzed to reveal if illegal late-term abortions may have been performed." (h/t)CBS3

I feel so proud today. Canada made history last night. In their free dance, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, our Canadian team, were the first ever gold medal North American winners in ice dancing at the Olympics. They were the youngest Olympic Champions too, ages 20 and 22.

Their performance was spectacular. It was the most beautiful ice dancing I have ever seen.

If you missed it last night or want to see it again, you can see that magnificent performance here.

Congratulations Tessa and Scott! You have made us all so proud! God Bless you as you further your ice dancing career!

Monday, February 22, 2010

I wonder if Mr. Iffy has been paying attention to what's happening to his "good friend from Haavard." President Obama is disappointing masses. In the latest daily tracking Rasmussen poll, only 22% strongly approve and 41% strongly disapprove. Shocking! There was such great expectations for President Obama, sad. Not a good trend.

"The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows that 22% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. That matches yesterday’s result as the lowest level of strong approval yet recorded for this President. Forty-one percent (41%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -19 (see trends).

The only day that Barack Obama’s Approval Index ratings were lower than today was last December 22." Rasmussen Reports

We have just gone through the worst recession since WWII. Our unemployment rate is over 8%. We racked up a deficit of over $56bill. Now how to get our fiscal house back in order. How do we get rid of the deficit, pay down the debt, balance the budget and get back to surplus?Minister Flaherty will bring down the budget on March 4. What should he do? Should he raise taxes, cut spending? Maybe we should take a look at New Zealand and learn a lesson from what they did.

New Zealand about 20 yrs. ago was in an economic conundrum. In desperation, they made big reforms.

"Prior to comprehensive reforms 20 years ago, New Zealand was an economic mess, suffering from debt, continual deficits, and a stagnating economy. Out of desperation, New Zealand’s political leaders reduced government spending and enacted fundamental, wide-ranging reform. Since then, New Zealand’s national government has seen a single deficit; it was this year and due to the worldwide recession." Goldwater Institute

Maurice P. McTigue, member of the New Zealand Parliament and New Zealand’s ambassador to Canada was instrumental in the reforms that turned that country around. Here is just some of what they did.

"Spending and TaxesWhen a reform government was elected in 1984, it identified three problems: too much spending, too much taxing and too much government. The question was how to cut spending and taxes and diminish government’s role in the economy. Well, the first thing you have to do in this situation is to figure out what you’re getting for dollars spent. Towards this end, we implemented a new policy whereby money wouldn’t simply be allocated to government agencies; instead, there would be a purchase contract with the senior executives of those agencies that clearly delineated what was expected in return for the money. Those who headed up government agencies were now chosen on the basis of a worldwide search and received term contracts five years with a possible extension of another three years. The only ground for their removal was non-performance, so a newly elected government couldn’t simply throw them out as had happened with civil servants under the old system. And of course, with those kinds of incentives, agency heads "like CEOs in the private sector" made certain that the next tier of people had very clear objectives that they were expected to achieve as well.

The first purchase that we made from every agency was policy advice. That policy advice was meant to produce a vigorous debate between the government and the agency heads about how to achieve goals like reducing hunger and homelessness. This didn’t mean, by the way, how government could feed or house more people, that’s not important. What’s important is the extent to which hunger and homelessness are actually reduced. In other words, we made it clear that what’s important is not how many people are on welfare, but how many people get off welfare and into independent living.

As we started to work through this process, we also asked some fundamental questions of the agencies. The first question was, "What are you doing"? The second question was, "What should you be doing"? Based on the answers, we then said, "Eliminate what you shouldn’t be doing", that is, if you are doing something that clearly is not a responsibility of the government, stop doing it. Then we asked the final question: "Who should be paying?, the taxpayer, the user, the consumer, or the industry?" We asked this because, in many instances, the taxpayers were subsidizing things that did not benefit them. And if you take the cost of services away from actual consumers and users, you promote overuse and devalue whatever it is that you’re doing.

When we started this process with the Department of Transportation, it had 5,600 employees. When we finished, it had 53. When we started with the Forest Service, it had17,000 employees. When we finished, it had 17. When we applied it to the Ministry of Works, it had 28,000 employees. I used to be Minister of Works, and ended up being the only employee. In the latter case, most of what the department did was construction and engineering, and there are plenty of people who can do that without government involvement. And if you say to me, "But you killed all those jobs!", well, that’s just not true. The government stopped employing people in those jobs, but the need for the jobs didn’t disappear. I visited some of the forestry workers some months after they’d lost their government jobs, and they were quite happy. They told me that they were now earning about three times what they used to earn, on top of which, they were surprised to learn that they could do about 60 percent more than they used to! The same lesson applies to the other jobs I mentioned.

Some of the things that government was doing simply didn’t belong in the government. So we sold off telecommunications, airlines, irrigation schemes, computing services, government printing offices, insurance companies, banks, securities, mortgages, railways, bus services, hotels, shipping lines, agricultural advisory services, etc. In the main, when we sold those things off, their productivity went up and the cost of their services went down, translating into major gains for the economy. Furthermore, we decided that other agencies should be run as profit-making and tax-paying enterprises by government. For instance, the air traffic control system was made into a stand-alone company, given instructions that it had to make an acceptable rate of return and pay taxes, and told that it couldn’t get any investment capital from its owner (the government). We did that with about 35 agencies. Together, these used to cost us about one billion dollars per year; now they produced about one billion dollars per year in revenues and taxes.

We achieved an overall reduction of 66 percent in the size of government, measured by the number of employees. The government’s share of GDP dropped from 44 to 27 percent. We were now running surpluses, and we established a policy never to leave dollars on the table: We knew that if we didn’t get rid of this money, some clown would spend it. So we used most of the surplus to pay off debt, and debt went from 63 percent down to 17 percent of GDP. We used the remainder of the surplus each year for tax relief. We reduced income tax rates by half and eliminated incidental taxes. As a result of these policies, revenue increased by 20 percent. Yes, Ronald Reagan was right: lower tax rates do produce more revenue.

What about regulations? The regulatory power is customarily delegated to non-elected officials who then constrain the people’s liberties with little or no accountability. These regulations are extremely difficult to eliminate once they are in place. But we found a way: We simply rewrote the statutes on which they were based. For instance, we rewrote the environmental laws, transforming them into the Resource Management Act, reducing a law that was 25 inches thick to 348 pages. We rewrote the tax code, all of the farm acts, and the occupational safety and health acts. To do this, we brought our brightest brains together and told them to pretend that there was no pre-existing law and that they should create for us the best possible environment for industry to thrive. We then marketed it in terms of what it would save in taxes. These new laws, in effect, repealed the old, which meant that all existing regulations died , the whole lot, every single one."

I think we should take bold steps and make major reforms like they did. I can hear the howls from the opposition and their cheerleader MSM now if we took such steps. "The mean spirited, Harper Conservatives" and other such statements. Yada, yada, yada!The fact is we have to take bold measures that will be short term pain for long term gain.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Where has Al Gore and David Suzuki and others gone? Where art thou? We haven' t heard even a whisper out of any of them since the whole climate-gate story broke. Seems most of them have gone MIA.

"In all of this, some key figures have been absent from the debate. Al Gore, normally effervescent and quick to come to the defence of the consensus, has all but deserted the field. In part this is because some of his own claims – about sea level rises, impact of climate change or hurricane frequency and speed of global warming – are simply unproven. Donald Trump, not a fan of global warming, has suggested that the Nobel Prize should ask for Gore and the IPCC’s prize back. A petition has been started asking for exactly this to happen.

David Suzuki, Canada’s Patron Saint of Climate Change, has also said very little – he is missing in action just when scientists who claimed to know all about the climate need his help. Also missing is Lord Stern, author of the Stern Report which suggested that the world was at a tipping point and unless action was taken “immediately” (this was two years ago), then the world’s economies would be burdened by the impact of climate change for generations to come." (h/t) troymedia.com

You guys gone hiding? Maybe in a witness protection program? Maybe we should send a search party!

Friday, February 19, 2010

Jack Layton is making demands on the PM Harper to cancel the corporate tax cuts in the up coming budget to be brought down on March 4 when the House of Commons resumes sitting. Instead he wants the money to go towards more social welfare to help the poor. That's a socialist for you!

The two met privately for about half an hour Thursday afternoon in Mr. Harper's Parliament Hill office." (h/t) National Post

I think Mr. Layton is out to lunch here. With corporate tax cuts come expansion, hiring etc. That means more productivity, more employees, in turn more government revenues through income tax, gst etc. Better for the overall economy in the long run. I say to PM Harper and Minister Flaherty, bring on those corporate tax cuts but that's still not good enough for me. I want to see more broad based tax cuts along with spending cuts and for government to get out of the way. Let the free market work. It will help in the recovery and make us a more prosperous country.

If Mr. Layton has his way, it would have the opposite effect. It would actually mean more poverty. More government interference. More reliance on social programs and who would then pay for them?

Did Stephen Harper not once say that "the best social program is still a job?" I think he's right. If Mr. Layton really cares about those he talks about then, let's create the atmosphere for business and industry to create the jobs so that aboriginals and others can work.

As far as seniors goes, yes most need extra help but we can do that as well through our tax system.

BTW, despite that fact I disagree with Mr. Layton on this issue like most issues, I still wish him well in his battle with that dreaded cancer. Get well soon Mr. Layton!

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Remember not long ago when alarmists like Al Gore, David Suzuki, Lizzy Mayall said "the science is settled?"Well it's not settled. Even Phil Jones, the former head of CRU is admitting that it's not settled.

"Prof. Jones even admitted the science of climate change is far from settled. “There is still much that needs to be undertaken to reduce uncertainties.”

Nothing scientific had changed since the Climategate leaks. No new data or discoveries have been added that would make the former CRU director change his tone so dramatically. So his new willingness to concede doubt must be solely the result of the embarrassing leaks last November."(h/t)Lorne Gunter

The whole global warming scam is falling apart. I think the public is starting to get it. Thank God for that! Now how to get our politicians at all levels of government to wake up and smell the coffee and STOP ramming "Green Initiatives" down our throats.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

In speaking about the Prime Minister's maternal health initiative, feminazi, Joyce Arthur, of the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada thinks Stephen Harper has it wrong and Mr. Iffy has it right. She's on the same page as Mr. Iffy in advocating the Harper include abortion as part of the initiative.

A bewildering firestorm of media controversy has erupted over Michael Ignatieff's strong and principled statements about women's reproductive rights overseas. The Liberal Opposition Leader has been urging Prime Minister Stephen Harper not to exclude abortion and contraception from his surprising plan to become a champion of maternal and child health in developing countries.

Of course, Ignatieff is a politician, and bringing up abortion is no doubt a political strategy in part — but it's also the absolutely right thing for him to do. It is impossible to tackle maternal health without addressing unsafe abortion, which is a leading cause of maternal death in most developing countries.

Given the critical importance of legal safe abortion in saving women's lives, and the Conservative Party's well-known anti-choice stance, Ignatieff would have been remiss not to make it a burning issue. The majority of women in Canada are pro-choice, and we [the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada] are surprised, pleased, and hopeful to see Ignatieff stand up to defend the rights of poor women in other countries.

Conservative politicians and commentators have heaped scorn on Ignatieff's concerns, however, and condemned him for turning women's health into a "political football." But most of the politicking is actually coming from Ignatieff's critics, who have launched attacks without the benefit of any facts, and even less compassion for women. Some of the coverage is so shockingly ignorant that it qualifies as being misogynist. Please, if we are going to have this discussion — and we should — please, let's pay attention to some key facts: (h/t) Straight Goods.ca

Does she not understand that some countries in the world do not accept abortions? Does she not understand that the PM's plan is about providing basic needs such as clean water, nutritious food, vaccinations etc.?This about the lives of moms and kids, making sure they have a happy, healthy chance at a long life. It's about preserving lives not eliminating them.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

In today's National Post, John Ivison writes that PM Stephen Harper, regarding what could be this PM's legacy, a keen passion for exercising and developing our sovereignty in the North, may end up becoming our Thomas Jefferson.

Here:

"People close to him point to his fixation on the Arctic and suggest he sees this as being his signature legacy project.

The Prime Minister has broken with years of benign neglect of the Arctic and appears to believe history will judge him more kindly for having invested dollars and political capital in the region."..............................................................

"Stephen Harper may yet prove to be Canada's Thomas Jefferson, the president who doubled the size of the United States with the Louisiana Purchase and sent Lewis and Clark off in search of a route to the Pacific. At the very least, Mr. Harper has put God's frozen people in the North back on the political map." (h/t) John Ivison

"A prominent Canadian economist says Stephane Dion's "Green Shift" carbon tax plan is "a good start" that will leave the general Canadian taxpayer "better off."

"The idea itself is very sensible," Don Drummond, the chief economist at TD Bank, told CTV's Canada AM on Friday.

"There's a growing consensus to do something about emissions. We need to put a price on carbons. This proposes it."

Drummond said that "in most cases" the average Canadian will "be better off" because of income tax breaks and additional federal benefits included in the plan. He also noted that the Liberal plan also addresses a "bizarre situation" on energy taxes.

"We have a fairly stiff tax on gasoline. We have a lower level tax on aviation and diesel. But we have no tax of other pollutants from energy (such as coal). So, it levels the playing field," he said."

"Don Drummond would be well-advised not to give up his day job as TD Financial's chief economist to try his hand at politics.

Mr. Drummond was curious about the regional economic impact of the Conservative government's plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 20% below 2006 levels by 2020, and commissioned a study to investigate. So far, so good.

His mistake was to ask two environmental groups, the David Suzuki Foundation and Pembina Institute, to author the report. It would be fair to say that neither group is particularly well-disposed toward the Conservatives -- in fact, at the last election Mr. Suzuki backed the carbon tax plan put forward by Stephane Dion's Liberals. The loathing is mutual -- one insider called the two organizations "official opponents of the government."

"McKenna didn’t pull any punches when asked what the federal Liberal leader should do about Tory ads that label him “just visiting” and “only in it for himself.” “I think you have to fire back,” he said. “My inclination is to use attack ads when you’re attacked.” As for the sort of adversaries the Liberals are up against in Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s tacticians, McKenna added, “They are dealing with thugs; they’ve got to fight back and fight hard.”

Now, Ed Clark , or "Red Ed" because he once worked for the Trudeau Liberal government,and helped draft the horrible NEP. He was fired shortly after PM Mulroney took office. Thank God for that!

Red Ed Clark has stepped into the political fray by criticizing PM Harper saying that the PM isn't listening regarding reducing the deficit. He said that Canadian CEOs want taxes raised.

"Last week at a conference in Florida, TD Bank CEO Ed Clark said Prime Minister Stephen Harper isn't listening to the overwhelming view of Canadian CEOs that tax increases are the best way to reduce a record deficit.

He told the conference that almost every person at a recent meeting of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives said “raise my taxes” to erase it.

Since when do bank executives get political and try to tell what the government what to do? They are supposed to be non-partisan. Especially from someone who crafted the NEP that stole millions of dollars from the west namely Alberta?

Mr. Iffy has come out in defense of Red Ed as recent as today at the Olympics of all places. You can understand why.

This is what Red Ed Clark donated to the Liberal Party, in particular to Michael Ignatieff in 2009.

Click on image for larger image.

Is TD another branch of the Liberal Party? One wonders.

BTW. Happy Famly Day!

Update: (h/t) reader, Ron Conway

"Ron Conway said...

Please add the following donations to the Liberal Pty as per Elections Canada-

Oct 28/2005 - 2000.00 - Liberal Pty Can

Jan 5/2006 - 2000.00 - Iggy campaign

Jan 6/2006 - 4895.00 - Liberal Pty Can

Oct 18/2006 - 2000.00 - Bob Rae campaign

May 11/2007 - 956.56 - Liberal mPty Can

Adding up the 2200.00 for Iggy & Rae he has donated over $13,000.00 to the Liberal Party of Canada in the past 5 years. Let not this man be called an ordinary Canadian- He is a very large supporter of the Liberal Party of Canada and their policies."

Friday, February 12, 2010

What is it with Quebec? It seems they want it both ways. They attack us big bad Albertans for our evil, evil "Tarsands". Now the Quebec government is encouraging businesses to capitalize on our "big bad dirty oil." They want their businesses to invest in our "Tarsands." Go figure!

In a speech at the University of Ottawa last week, Gilles Duceppe cited climate change policies as another reason that Quebec would be better off as a separate country. For that reason alone, federalists should keep a close eye on what’s actually going on in the distinct society.

This morning, Le Devoir reports that Jean Charest’s government has invited Quebec business people to “seize the opportunities” in the oil sands as part of a subsidized trade mission to Edmonton, from March 22-25.

Meanwhile, La Presse is reporting that Ontario’s Minister Sandra Pupatello says that Quebec’s tailpipe emissions standards are a complete waste of time as the province only represents 4 per cent of the North America market and will have to adjust its standards when continent-wide standards are put in place.

And the New York Times reports that, because of economic concerns, Arizona has pulled out of the Western Climate Initiative, of which Quebec is a member, which is supposed to inaugurate a cap-and-trade program in 2012. (h/t) Norman Spector

Thursday, February 11, 2010

PM Harper gave a tremendous speech in the BC Legislature yesterday. He talked about how we shouldn`t be afraid to show our patriotism. It`s OK to chest thump. We do live in an amazing country so why not express it.

It's now obvious the media has been biased as far as the perogy issue goes. Marilyn Baker,Winnipeg Free Press did a comparison of Harper's prorogation and the one in 2003 by Jean Chretien. The perogies in the past were yawners, this one suddenly a crisis.

My method involved searching for the word "prorogue" (and its derivatives) in all the main media outlets in Canada on specific dates. The results are astounding. They overwhelmingly support my hypothesis.

Take 2003, for example. During the year, there were 84 articles that referred to "prorogue."

That was the year that Jean Chrétien prorogued Parliament for two months in mid-November. Speculation had it that he did so to avoid having to sit alongside Paul Martin in the House of Commons, since Martin was to be acclaimed new party leader in November. And of course it's possible that he wanted to avoid taking the increasing flak from the sponsorship scandal. Also, the 84 articles included several references to Ontario's legislature, which also was prorogued in 2003.

Now let's look at 2010. In the month of January, there were 242 articles about prorogation in our mainstream media.

From Jan. 1 to 26, the Globe and Mail published 34 separate articles on prorogation in its print edition. (Think Douglas firs.) I didn't bother to count the number of online articles, which would include their perpetually outraged bloggers.

On Jan. 31, the entire two hours of CBC radio's Cross Country Checkup was given over to prorogation. CBC's The House also dealt at length with it.

Speaking of CBC's The House, on Jan. 23 it featured Iggy's sidekick, Bob Rae, singing Just Prorogue to the Beatles tune, Let It Be. But don't worry if you missed it. You can also catch him on the Maclean's website. Rae is quoted as saying that Stephen Harper "made a terrible decision."

He should know. During his brief stint as Ontario premier, he prorogued the Ontario legislature three times, for four months at a whack.

On Jan. 13, Tom Walkom of the Toronto Star called it a crisis of governance. There were 33 prorogue references in the month of January in the Toronto Star.

To his credit, Walkom also mentions the 2003 Chrétien prorogue, and admits that the PM did it for political reasons. He writes that "Curiously, even though his (Chrétien's) motive was seen to be as self-serving as Harper's, Chrétien's actions caused much less uproar."

Curious indeed. Hello? Nobody was alerted to any crisis of governance or democratic deficit or constitutional crisis in 2003. It was merely reported as an adjournment of Parliament.

Wait, I lie. There was one article. The 2003 shutting of Parliament for two months was decried as "unacceptable to hardworking Canadians!" by an MP, Betty Hinton, from Kamloops. Her statement was reported in the Kamloops Daily News. Once.

The other day in discussing this matter with a golfing buddy, a rock solid Liberal, I pointed out that Chrétien had prorogued Parliament four times and that Pierre Trudeau had prorogued Parliament eight times.

"I didn't know that," he sputtered.

"That's because no one told you," I smiled.

I bet he also doesn't know that in the 143 years since Confederation, Parliament has been prorogued almost once a year on average. (h/t) Winnipeg Free Press"

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Yesterday Finance Minister Ted Morton tabled the 2010 budget in the Alberta Legislature. With the economy suffering, a record deficit, the PC's plummeting in the polls, you would have thought Premier Ed and company would have seen the light and gotten their act together. Not so!

The big spending continues. Yes there were some cuts but they should have been deeper and more broad and there should have been tax cuts too. It has been the case before when a government cuts spending and cuts taxes together the economy prospers. Yes, our most vulnerable should be supported. Sadly too many people want their entitlements but at the same time complain that the government is spending too much. Go figure!

The tabling of Tuesday's provincial budget was surprising on a number of fronts.It had been rumoured to be a slash-and-burn budget -- one that was meant to demonstrate the government's commitment to fiscal responsibility, but the opposite turned out to be the case.

Instead, a budget with a $4.7-billion deficit was tabled, representing a six per cent increase over last year's plan and one that was devoid of anything interesting, innovative or visionary.

Some were quick to question why it was even put forward in the first place -- before the impact of the competitiveness review could be factored into the numbers presented Tuesday

I don't think this budget is going to change Eddy's situation. Stop being so progressive! Stop the spending and cut taxes!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

In my going through my daily blog reading, I came across an interesting perspective from a fellow blogger about Mr. Iffy bringing up the abortion issue as a priority for PM Harper's initiative to help the survival rate among women and children in the third world. I thought it was rather interesting viewpoint.

Monday, February 8, 2010

I know, I know it's supposed to be a light hearted Superbowl ad. It's supposed to be funny but could it be a little glimpse into our future if the global warming extremists have their way? The ad is a little eerie to me.

Governments at all levels want to impose all kinds of environmental rules on us, could the Green Police be coming to a community near you? Could this really be? The Green Police?They already have them in the UK and New York City. Something to think about. What say you?

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Will IRuby run for mayor of Toronto? I guess some want her to. Should she?

"Could Brampton Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla run for mayor of Toronto?

The former beauty queen and Bollywood actress wasn't returning our call asking if she has entertained the idea, but those who know Dhalla say she has been getting requests to throw her hat in the ring.

While the field for Toronto's next mayor is crowded, the Brampton-Springdale politico would provide a strong, female candidate who would jazz up the race that so far has been filled with white, male front-runners.

"That's certainly a new spin on the election trail, it certainly comes out of left field," a surprised Ryerson University professor Myer Siemiatycki said Friday. "You'd have to think that this is a long-shot prospect."

Siemiatycki said Dhalla would face a few major hurdles, including the fact she doesn't live in Toronto and her "Nannygate" incident last year, when relatives were publicly accused of mistreating foreign domestic workers, a claim Dhalla denied.

To be eligible to run, Dhalla would have to move to Toronto or own or rent property within the city.

But despite her challenges, Siemiatycki said Dhalla's entry would make it a "much more interesting contest."

With the fact municipal elections have notoriously low voter turnouts, it could be anyone's race, Siemiatycki said. The next mayor could win with just 30% of the 30% of the city's population that bothers to vote, he said." (h/t) Toronto Sun

Update: IRuby has confirmed she will not run for Toronto Mayor.Ruby Twitter

If this is person who set the fire, he's a sick, demented individual who I hope is caught and has the book thrown at him. Only someone filled with hate would attempt something so horrible. Thank God no one got seriously injured.

What have MPs been up to while Parliament is not sitting? Not much according to Kelly McParland. He even questions the value of question period. Shouldn't they not be busy at work in their constituencies tending to the concerns of their constituents? I'm sure some are. Not so sure others are though. We pay these clowns just to gripe and complain all the time? How about working together to make this country a better place for a change?

Some have given the impression that the PM and his caucus have been on vacation and the operations of government have stopped but that is not true of course, it keeps going. They have been very hard at work. Dealing with the Haiti crisis, planning for the up coming budget and the G8 and G20 summits this summer amongst other matters.

Freed from the need to present themselves on a daily basis in the House of Commons, Canada’s Members of Parliament have been busy catching up on ... nothing, apparently.

The Prime Minister has been active enough. Mr. Harper seems to have no end of duties to keep him occupied — directing Canada’s response to the devastation in Haiti; jetting off to Switzerland to commune with former U.S. president Bill Clinton and expound on the need for more effective assistance to women and children; stuffing the Senate with reliable Tories.

A few members of cabinet also seem able to keep themselves busy, especially those presented with new jobs in Mr. Harper’s recent shuffle, who now have to figure out how to avoid doing anything to upset the Prime Minister’s Office.

The remaining 300-or-so MPs seem to find themselves at loose ends. Ever since Mr. Harper told Parliament it could add four extra weeks to its Christmas break, opposition MPs in particular have been complaining about having nothing to do. Evidently, if the Prime Minister isn’t there to give them a target to aim insults at, they’re stuck for useful activities. (h/t) Kelly McParland, NP

Opposition MPs should have plenty to do in their ridings. It sounds like they want the PM to babysit them. Yet, while opposition gripes and complains about even the littlest things, the PM graciously takes a moment to wish Jack Layton who is battling prostate cancer, well wishes. Even though they're political rivals, it seems like they are good friends. Pretty classy of the PM to do that.

So I question, what has your MP been doing with themselves during this time away from parliament? Better check in and see what they're up to. We are their employers after all.

I know what my MP has been doing. My MP is Ted Menzies. He's the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance. He's been very busy juggling participating in round tables around the country working on the up coming budget and his duties in the constituency office. What is yours doing?

Jack Layton leader of the federal NDP party announced today he has prostate cancer but will stay on as leader and MP. Even though not all Canadians agree with his politics, I'm sure all will wish him well during this time. I know I do.

OTTAWA — NDP Leader Jack Layton has been diagnosed with a treatable form of prostate cancer.

Layton said Friday he will step away from an active political role for "several months" in order to undergo treatment, but will not step down as leader.

I pray that God would put His healing hand upon Jack and raise him up again to good health. I pray also that God would give Jack and his family the grace and the peace that passes all understanding through this this battle they have to fight. Jack, Olivia and family, may God richly bless you!

Good news! A deal has finally been struck in the American protectionism issue due to the hard work of PM Harper and his government to get the job done. A lot of people thought it was a lost cause. Of course the opposition are going find something to gripe about in this deal. Never mind them, this government deserves to be congratulated!

The American government deserves credit too. We can work together with our American cousins to get things done. The softwood lumber agreement, now this.
Way to go PM Harper, Minister Day, Van Loan,and Cannon!Wonder how the Lame Stream Media is going to spin this,it's just too positive.

OTTAWA -- With official confirmation that Ottawa and Washington have struck a deal on Buy American provisions, Veso Sobot is letting out a major sigh of relief -- as well as a laugh or two. He can’t help but be a bit giddy.

“Oh my goodness, absolutely, we are very happy,” said Mr. Sobot, director of corporate affairs at IPEX Inc., a Toronto-based pipe manufacturer that gained notoriety after the introduction of Buy American rules for having its pipe fittings pulled out of the ground in California because they had the ‘Made in Canada’ designation on them.

“This will allow us to compete again. We are tickled pink and we are going to be aggressive about trying to compete for business in the Untied States, and I hope this can help bolster our 2010 and bring back jobs to Canada.”

International Trade Minister Peter Van Loan and Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon announced Friday morning that a deal had been struck.

"Preserving and creating jobs is the Canadian government's top priority," Mr. Van Loan said. "Our government stood up for Canadian businesses and workers in resolving this issue with our U.S. partners." (h/t) Vancouver Sun

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Preston Manning thinks the Alberta PC's are on "shaky ground." I think he's right. Premier Ed Stelmach's PC government has been floundering. With the spending like drunken sailors, and the changes in the royalty formula, we now have deficit. Albertans are looking for an alternative, a fiscally conservative party who will put our fiscal house in order and bring back "The Alberta Advantage." They're looking for a home they would feel comfortable in and it's not the David Swan Liberals or the Brian Mason NDs. That home is with Danielle Smith and the Wildrose Alliance.

The PCs have been in power since 1971. That's a very long time for one party to be in government.It's time for a change. When Alberta makes changes, it's in a big way and I sense it's coming.

Mr. Manning says an aging Progressive Conservative government--along with health-care and economic woes -- have left Alberta in a volatile political state and the province's 39-year ruling Tory dynasty on shaky ground.

The founder of the former Reform party said this week that the challenges facing the Alberta government on health, energy and the economy, combined with a fresh face in Danielle Smith and her rising opposition party, the Wildrose Alliance, are producing political upheaval not seen in the province for decades.

"Alberta is in one of those transition times that it has periodically, where the governing party is challenged to reinvigorate itself from within and you've got a new group coming along challenging it," Mr. Manning said. (h/t) National Post

Mr. Iffy is supposed to be worldly? Was his father not a diplomat? Is he not supposd to have international experience? Who's advising this clown? Jack Layton? One of his rabid feminazis?National Post editorial today has a very good take on Mr. Iffy's latest out of touch policy on abortion.

Mr. Ignatieff is staking out an absolutist pro-abortion ideology beyond any taken previously by his party. Even most pro-choice advocates stop short of casually lumping abortion in as just another uncontroversial “contraceptive method,” as Mr. Ignatieff appears to have done.

What’s worse, Mr. Ignatieff insists that the government hard-wire this view into its foreign aid initiatives, such as Mr. Harper’s recent proposal for G8 countries to increase support for health programs for women and children in the poorest countries. Would an Ignatieff government cancel aid to those countries which, for religious or cultural reasons, are opposed to abortion? Will Canadian social assistance to Afghanistan or Gaza be withheld until women there can prove they’ve adopted fashionable Liberal attitudes on the question of when life begins?

Mr. Ignatieff’s supporters commonly point to his international experience as proof of his qualifications to lead, while deriding Mr. Harper’s supposedly more limited world view. Yet it is the Liberal leader whose provincial attitude suggests he is out of place in a world of diplomacy and foreign affairs. He appears not to have grasped that Canada can’t simply dictate Rosedale values to people living in Ramallah.

Mr. Ignatieff has misjudged Canadians if he mistakes Ottawa’s inability to formulate a national abortion policy as proof the question is settled, or that Canadian views would reside easily in the more extreme reaches of the pro-choice camp. He needs to clarify his views, and the position of his party, rather than using an emotional issue in a crass attempt to score points against the government. (h/t) National Post

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

A former Liberal MP slams his party and the NDP for their perogy proposals.

The best thing about writing in the Globe’s dead-tree edition is the feedback from its unique readership.

For example, in reaction to yesterday’s column, I received an e-mail from Edward McWhinney – a former professor of constitutional law and adviser to governments, who sat in the House of Commons as Liberal MP for Vancouver-Quadra from 1993-2000. In it, Professor McWhinney disses the Liberal and NDP prorogation proposals and suggests an ingenious one of his own:

Norman Spector, Columnist, Globe & Mail

I read with great interest your comments in the Globe and Mail of February 2 on a current proposal by the federal NDP leader, and a later, rather more intricate and “Gothic” plan by the Liberal leader, to have the House of Commons establish, in terms, specific limits and conditions to the Governor General’s Reserve, Prerogative powers, such as they may exist today, as to Prorogation. I fully share the constitutional-legal doubts expressed by Quebec jurist, Benoit Pelletier, as reported in the G&M of January 26, as to Mr. Layton’s proposal, and these doubts would seem to apply even more to the brief now advanced by Mr. Ignatieff.

It is surely beyond the constitutional mandate and competence of Parliament to seek to legislate in regard to what is, after all, a fully autonomous and separate, coordinate institution of government in relation to Parliament.

To say that is not to suggest that constitutional changes should not be considered to the incidents and attributes of the office of Governor General today or, more specifically, to the constitutional relations inter se of the institutions of head-of-state and head-of-government: it is simply that the office of Governor General is too important in our system of government for amendment in it to be ventured upon by conscious constitutional indirection, in the interstices of a proposed change to Parliamentary rules and practice.

If Mr. Layton were now to delete the references to the Governor General and to limit his proposal to the “saving” of public legislation still before the House at the time of Prorogation he would respond to heartfelt irritations felt by MPs of all main parties in recent years in having Bills on which they had spent many hours working together in Committee automatically disappear into legal limbo on the grant of the writ.

Mr. Layton could at the same time suggest the addition to all such grants in the future of a specific, deliberately limited time duration: this has certainly been the practice, one might say convention, in exercises in grants of Prorogation under the Chretien and the Harper governments equally, and there is no reason why it shouldn’t now be formalised.

Why not, at the same time, replace the esoteric Latinism, “Prorogation” by something in plainer English that is more nearly descriptive of what has actually been involved in the historical record of the 105 grants of Prorogation, to Liberal and also Conservative Prime Ministers, since the Constitution was first adopted in 1867?

Best wishes, and keep on with your always stimulating columns. [I remember earlier valuable exchanges of views with you during your years in Ottawa when there was still the possibility to save Meech Lake].